


A Captain's Folly

by KDNightshade (Lady_Star_Strings)



Series: Creative Writing Stories [1]
Category: Peter Pan - Fandom
Genre: Flipped Fairytale, Hook Pre-Hook, Peter's father - Freeform, canon interpretation, crocodile orgin, twisted tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-12 00:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20554985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Star_Strings/pseuds/KDNightshade
Summary: The origins of Peter Pan and Captain Hook's "rivalry," all told with Hook in the protagonist seat rather than Peter.





	A Captain's Folly

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Creative Writing in 2016-2017.

“I'll get you for this Pan, if it's the last thing I do!”

The same threat had been heard countless times before from the captain who yelled it, but never had it been so empty and regretted as they were now. That boy - the one he had known since he first arrived in Neverland - wasn't a hero any more than he was a codfish. To those around them, however, both seemed to be honest depictions based on what was seen of their actions nowadays. 

“It's alright James,” Smee comforted resting his hand on his shoulder with a glum grin. “The stars don't change overnight you know…”

“It seems an awfully lot like they do…” He somberly murmured in return as he shrugged off older man's hand, moving towards his quarters with the hope that he'd find solitude within them.

“Come now Captain, you know he can't help but think of it as a game…”

“Well, it's time he grew up and realized that to everyone his game has hurt that it's no longer one!”

With his turmoil beginning to burn with frustration, the seaman stormed into his quarters before slamming the doors behind him, the ship shaking from the force. As the crew stood with shaking knees waiting for an order to seek out Pan again, Smee simply sighed and shuffled over to his place on the steps. From his pocket he withdrew an old faded photograph, the object tarnished and battered beyond belief. 

_ ‘I don't want anything to do with it Bartholomew,’  _ He recalled the once young man telling him in a bitter tone as they sat in the rain.  _ ‘Not until this is fixed…’ _

It had been centuries since that day had passed, and he was certain it would be centuries more before he would ever be able to return the object. In Neverland the said rivalry between him and the boy would never see an end, not before James took his last breath.

“I know it’s hard for you to admit Captain,” He mumbled now, absentmindedly reminiscing as he rubbed the photo with his thumb. “But what happened isn't any more your fault that it is his…”

  


~✸~❂~✸~

  


“Burden, how many times have I told you to stay at your post?!” A man boomed from behind as the young bo’sun jumped with surprise, an unamused expression appearing on his face only seconds later.

“I’ve told you countless times  _ captain _ ,” he bitterly returned in a hushed voice as he turned to face his superior, “my name is James. If you wish to address me by my surname it’s  _ Burgess _ , not  _ Burden _ .”

“Well, you’re about as good to me as you were to your father, and that makes you a burden!”

“Please stop shouting sir, I was only manning the wheel in case of emergency while you slept.”

“And now I’m awake, so get back to your post!”

“...Aye aye, Captain Blackbeard.”

Although James Burgess had been promoted to second-in-command over the pirate’s crew he still felt undignified to serve under such an uneducated man, and it often showed. Due to his father’s cruel tactics of eliminating the unwanted result of his infidelity he’d been forced into his now lowly life, just as he was forced to take care of his captain’s own little unwanted result.

“That’s five times you’ve been yelled at by him this week,” The small ginger-haired boy taunted as the man passed him at the bottom of the steps. “Are ya aimin’ for a full dozen this time?”

“Peter, I’ve told you countless times not to speak to your mentor that way,” An older pirate piped up as he continued to swab the deck with a scolding look cast his way. “Apologize to him before you get yourself a smacked bottom.”

“Aw Smee, I was just-”

“You must be itching for it you're calling me that, do you want it now or later?”

“N-No Smeethington…”

“That's what I thought, now get along to your lessons before James changes his mind.”

Despite his many years alongside their captain, Bartholomew Smeethington hadn't ever been too ambitious of a man, which made him content with providing necessities for the crew. He'd done everything from preparing ten-course meals to swabbing in the crow's nest to keep them healthy and happy, but the only one who noticed had been James. Having the boy as a charge years ago hadn't been an easy task with all of his duties, but he'd brought him up fairly well as a pirate considering his prior schooling.

Now as he watched him take care of his own assigned monster he couldn't help but wonder if it had been that hard for himself, or if the child was another beast entirely. He was a whiny little bugger and often disrespected those around him for the sake of his “games,” however; not much else could be expected from Blackbeard’s son.

“So whaddawe doin’ today Codfish?” Peter practically screeched in the raven-haired bo’sun’s ears as he slid down the railing of the stairway, a sour look given as he landed next to him.

“Nothing if you're going to behave like that,” James returned scoldingly before his expression softened upon the child's grin fading into a blank slate. “But if you can fix your behavior, we were going to observe Tick today…”

“Tick…?”

“Yes, he's a crocodile juvenile some of the men found stowing away in the meat supply… Would you like to see him?”

“Yes sir!”

Watching the boy skip beside him as they went, he lead him below deep into the hold to where the beast lurked, the young man taking care to keep a distance between the two. As Peter watched with awe, James carefully lifted the sheet they'd placed over the chained reptile’s head to keep him asleep, its eyes immediately opening in their proper slit fashion.

Without warning the creature whipped its head to the side and - what little range it had with its tied jaws - nipped at his hands. James jumped in accordance to the pain it inflicted, but he could only chuckle when Peter turned white as it had only been a nip. The yellow-green beast had left his mark on his right hand in an unfinished semi-oval as it oozed crimson, and yet, James coaxed Peter forward to see him without reservation.

“He's really big…” Peter admired, gingerly running his fingers over the creature’s scales in awe of his girth, the boy feeling like a flea next to the still unresponsive beast.

“Well, you will be too at one point I suspect,” His mentor speculated continuously wiping the blood from the fresh wound with a handkerchief. “However, you still have quite some time to wait until you're full-grown whereas he only has a few months.”

“As big as father…?”

“Perhaps, if you eat well and-”

“But what if I don’t wanna be a pirate…?”

James was surprised. After how many games of pirates the boy had played before the Mermaid Lagoon invasion it was odd that he would ask such a thing, especially considering his father's reputation. He was in line to become the next great pirate of the seas one day when his father would meet his end, but that didn't mean much to the boy. He was an observant child, to say the least, no doubt he'd picked up on what his father did to others and the lives the creatures in Neverland lead. Knowing how his little mind worked, he wanted to live as an adventurer exploring the island and its inhabitants.

“Well, what do people do when they don’t like the current story they're in…?” James asked quietly covering the beast once more, his brow arched in a questioning manner.

“What…?” The child puzzled watching him with confusion, the ginger at a loss for what he was getting at.

“They pretend it to be different, almost like it were a game, and I know that you  _ love  _ games.”

“A game, huh…?”

After a few moments of contemplation, the boy turned with a beaming smile and dashed back upstairs, a perfect plan forming in his mind for the greatest game he'd played yet. James again chuckled at his childish ways before his smile faded into a concerned frown, his heart hopeful yet broken all at once for the outcome of the boy's future.

“If we’re lucky he won’t become as beastly as his father,” He thought aloud as he wrapped his hand properly with a wry look towards the reptile. “Or you for that matter Mr. Crocodile…”

He knew he could only hope for as much for the child of the Pirate King, but seeing how his own future with his father had ended up he hadn’t too much hope. He supposed - just like all troubling things in life - they would have to wait and see what would happen in a few years time. After all, one never grew up as they were supposed to in Neverland and it would be many, many years before Peter would reach the age to decide his fate.

Throughout the rest of the evening James went about his duties with concern still heavily lingering on his mind, the bo’sun hardly able to sleep with the future plaguing him. He'd been up into the wee hours of the morning when he had heard the first scream, the cry causing him to bolt out of his hammock to find the source. It had been that of a man expecting death on his doorstep at any moment, a shrill bloodcurdling scream that only a known dead man would give. 

Before he could begin to climb the stairs to the top deck, another screech filled the air, one belonging to a child. Now panicking he snatched a whaling hook from its rack and charged up the stairs, hysterical as he jiggled the locked door as the commotion within the captain’s quarters ceased. Without hesitation, he proceeded to kick in the door as the moonlight shined upon the blood glistening on the inside of the windows. After two or three hard hits the hinges gave way and the door swung open, the wild-eyed man rushing inside before he staggered back against the wall with disbelief.

On the floor in a thick pool of his own blood lay Blackbeard, his face assumed to have been frozen in terror beneath its current unrecognizably mutilated state. The gaping wound in his chest told the tale of being run through by a broadsword, as did the intestines now trailing out of his stomach. If the loss of his innards hadn't been enough to end him the opening that had once housed his heart had been, blood continuing to pour from the wound in excess. It both amazed and terrified James how a little could be capable of such carnage if driven to the point they felt it necessary.

“...Peter,” James managed amidst his horror as the smell of blood permeated the air and filled his nostrils. “What have you done…?”

“I-I was only playing a game,” He answered innocently as he stepped over the corpse that had once been his father. “A-And he didn’t want to play, so I made him go to bed…”

“Oh God, Peter…”

“B-But you’ll play with me right…? Y-You’re already playing pirate, why else would you have that hook…?”

In his eyes, tears welled as James watched the merciless child wait for an answer as though it were all a game, the boy’s own tears for a different reason entirely. From head to toe, the six-year-old was soaked in the blood spatter created by his father, his expression wild but controlled all at once as though he were used to it. In his grip he still held the sword in preparation for an attack, the metal flashing across James as the moon shown through the clouds now gathering in the midnight sky.

He fought the urge to vomit as he felt the blood coating the walls seep through his clothes, his back soaking it up with ease as he struggled to breathe. Unable to properly think of what to do he dropped the hook and began to carefully creep forward, the clang ringing in his ears through the silence as he went. With shaking hands he reached out to Peter to take the sword from his small bloodstained hands, its blade pointing in his direction as he approached.

Without warning Peter surged forward and swung at the young man with all his strength, a sharp squelching sound heard as James dropped to his knees in shock. As adrenaline coursed through his veins he stared at his now gushing limb, the warmth of cadmium soon soaking into his pants as it pooled on the ground beneath them. Soon a horrific shriek of pain burst from within his chest as the adrenaline waned, the severed tendons and nerves hard to ignore any longer. Watching him continue to writhe on the floor and clutch his stump of an arm Peter bent down and scooped up the bloody appendage, his eyes wild as he spoke.

“I’m not done playing James,” Peter screeched above the bloodcurdling screams now rocking the ship beneath their feet. “I wanna play pirates  _ right now, _ and Tick is going to play father's part until he gets up!”

Unable to force himself in the immobilizing pain he now felt the man could only watch as the child rushed past and out onto the deck, the sound of splashing moments later confirming his fears. With what little strength he did have he pushed himself to the window catch what entered the water, the side to side motion and blood trailing behind undeniable even in his hysteric state. The hunt for both him and the beast was now afoot, and so far only one of them was able to subdue their prey in some fashion. 

Upon hearing the sound of feet pounding up the stairs once more he staggered to pull himself up with the window sill, his vision beginning to vignette around the edges from blood loss. As he scrambled out onto the deck the child appeared from below with a bag of supplies before hopping into a lifeboat, the ties on it quickly unfastened. James had wanted to stop him, help him even, but something told him it wouldn't be an option to do so in his current state. Instead, he watched as the small boat fell into the fog-covered black sea below, a small splash heard as he moved to the rail to get a better view.

“Catch me if you can Hook!” Peter playfully called rowing the boat further into the fog, his image disappearing as James began to bandage himself to cease the bleeding. 

It would be hours before the rest of the heavily sleeping crew would rise to find the carnage caused by the boy, the one that had refused to leave James’s mind as he stared at his missing limb. They weren't pleased with his half-hearted explanation of what happened as he was the only one left, but they had enough trust to let him off for the moment. The only one that had any true pity for him was Smeethington, finding it hard to think in his heart that James would really ever harm Peter.

In truth, the young bo’sun - now captain it seemed - hadn’t left his place at the rail all morning, even as it had begun to pour in one of the small storms the sea was known for. His arm hadn’t been rebandaged nor had he changed his bloodstained clothes yet, he merely stood watching the waters lost within his thoughts.

“James are you alright…?” Smeethington asked cautiously watching the young man as rain poured down upon him, an object given to him as the captain’s gaze remained unmoving.

“I don’t want anything to do with it Bartholomew,” He quietly returned attempting to push the memory of the photo away for the time being. “Not until this is fixed…”

Peering down into his hand he found a photo of the crew in its entirety, Blackbeard and Peter being in the center with James off to the side. It had been taken only a month ago, but now it had seemed Blackbeard and Peter had been gone for years. To James, however, it still felt as though it had just happened. 

For the remainder of the evening, he only offered faint glances in the crew’s direction when they spoke, but he hadn’t had the courage to even look in the captain’s quarters. If he did all he would see would be the results of a game gone bad. Nothing could ever make him forget the bloodstains of two captains frozen on the floor, or the hook that sealed his current fate

“...Dear God,” James whispered placing his head within his sole remaining hand as the other attempted to clench its nonexistent self out of regret. “What have I done…?”

  


~✸~❂~✸~

  


“What have you become…?” Hook whispered regretfully as he stared out to sea from the rail he'd watched the boy from years before.

He’d seen the boy from that rail many times since his departure, each time more and more consumed by the game he thought he was playing. With him would always come Tick - now a full-grown crocodile - searching for another taste of the captain. Both would torment him in their own way, but at the end of the day, he would still be standing at that rail, wishing he could change the rules of the game.

By now, however, it had been seven years since their game had begun, and in Neverland seven years was a  _ very _ long time. If they hadn't changed by now, deep down he knew they would never change.


End file.
